By Rich Pollack
For four and half years the identity of Baby June and the questions of how the tiny 2-day-old infant ended up floating in the Boynton Inlet remained a mystery.
Despite relentless efforts by Palm Beach County sheriff’s detectives searching for anyone who knew anything and tracking down dead-end tip after dead-end tip, there was little to go on.
Now, thanks to the latest advances in DNA analysis technology using public databases, detectives have answers to the questions and a Boynton Beach woman — the mother of Baby June — is in custody on a murder charge.
On Thursday, after an extensive investigation that included a covert DNA collection, detectives arrested 29-year-old Arya Singh and charged her with tossing the baby she had on May 30, 2018, into the ocean.
“There have been a lot of question marks about Baby June’s death and now we have an idea of what happened,” said detective Brittany Christoffel of the sheriff’s cold case unit. “It’s nice to have some answers.”
Christoffel said that the infant was a surprise to her mother and was thrown into the ocean shortly after she was born.
“She didn't know she was pregnant up until the time she gave birth,” Christoffel said. “When the baby was born, she wasn't sure if she was alive or dead, and that was that. By the time the baby went into the inlet, she was already deceased."
The baby was found by an off-duty Boynton Beach firefighter on June 1 and given the name Baby June by investigators.
Detectives believe that Singh acted alone and kept the birth of the baby and her actions in the aftermath a secret from most, including the baby’s father, a former boyfriend.
“She was fully responsible for the baby ending up in the Boynton Inlet,” Christoffel said.
The father played a key role in helping lead the detectives to Singh.
Using forensic genetic genealogy, the same technology used to identify the Golden State Killer in California a few years ago, members of the sheriff’s forensic biology unit were able to identify relatives of the father.
Armed with the lead, gathered in part through a public database, detectives met with the father and he led them to Singh.
“He knew nothing about the baby,” Christoffel said.
Once the mother was identified, investigators began building their case with search warrants that showed Singh was at the Boynton Inlet on May 30 — about 40 hours before the baby was found — and had done computer searches for news articles about the finding.
Using DNA found on trash she discarded, detectives were able to confirm that Singh was indeed the mother of Baby June.
Investigators did a subsequent DNA test and conducted several interviews to be certain of their findings before finally filing the first-degree murder charge against Singh.
Sheriff Ric Bradshaw praised the investigators as well as several partner agencies during a news conference announcing the arrest.
“The dedication and tenacity of the people involved in this case is exemplary,” he said.
Comments